UFC on FUEL TV 1, which is the first UFC event to air on the FOX-owned
cable station, takes place Feb. 15 in Omaha, Neb. The 18,000-seat
CenturyLink Arena is likely to host.

It’s not clear if Simpson vs. Markes and Brookins vs. Yahya will be part of the FUEL TV-televised main card.

Simpson looks for his fourth straight victory following UFC wins over Mario Miranda, Brad Tavares and Eric Schafer. The streak followed back-to-back losses to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz, which marked the two-time NCAA Division I All-American’s first defeats in pro MMA competition.

He now meets Markes, a Brazilian member of Nova Uniao who looks for his sixth straight win and second consecutive victory in the UFC. Fresh off a regional-show win over ex-WEC champ Paulo Filho, Markes made his UFC debut earlier this year and topped light heavyweight Karlos Vemola. He now makes his middleweight debut for the UFC.

Meanwhile, Brookins, the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 12,” looks to rebound from a UFC Fight Night 25 decision loss to fast-rising Erik Koch. The loss snapped the former WEC and Bellator fighter’s four-fight win streak, which included a unanimous-decision victory over Michael Johnson at the show’s live finale.

He looks to avoid a particularly nasty injury bug when he meets Yahya, a recent WEC and UFC fighter stuck in a 1-3 skid. The famed grappler, who topped former WEC champ Mike Brown in his UFC debut, most recently suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Chad Mendes at UFC 133.

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